The creative endeavors and philosophical wanderings of a middle-aged crazed fiberholic.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Advice for the fiber vendors out there

Today I finished spinning a combed top that I bought at a fiber festival recently. While the yarn is very nice, I had to stop frequently to pick out the neps and noils in the fiber--took 3x longer to spin this 4 oz of fiber than it would have if it had been well-prepared. It was quite obvious that there was low-quality fiber mixed in with mostly-supurb stuff. And I paid top dollar for this fiber. To be fair to the vendor, I grabbed the sales slip to contact her and try to be helpful (after all, perhaps it was a new mill that she used, or she let a hired hand run the carder). But no, there was no name on the receipt and I had paid cash so can't track them through a credit card. So, here's the rant.

For cripes sake, folks, if you want to enter the fiber vendor business, don't pass off shoddy fiber as top-notch goods. I had to pick out grass, neps and noils created by short bits of fiber (some as short as 1/16") and bits of seeds. I threw away a good cup (compressed) of fiber, for which I paid top dollar. What if I'd been a new spinner? This purchase may have turned me away from the craft completely, just because some careless or greedy vendor wanted to make a buck. Have some respect for what you raise and sell, and have the dignity to put your company info in the bag somehow. Instead of being able to call this particular vendor and chat, I'm here venting in public. I will definitely avoid this vendor next year at that show, and advise my co-travelers to purchase at their own risk. Too bad this seller has left her public with no way to provide her with feedback (positive or negative) and thus, no way to improve her business. sigh.....